UK: Bibby Stockholm is 'utterly shameful' way to treat people seeking asylum

In response to the first group of people seeking asylum moved into the controversial Bibby Stockholm today, Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Director, said:

“It seems there’s nothing this Government won’t do to make people seeking asylum feel unwelcome and unsafe in this country.

“Reminiscent of the prison hulks from the Victorian era, the Bibby Stockholm is an utterly shameful way to house people who’ve fled terror, conflict and persecution.

“Housing people on a floating barge is likely to be re-traumatising and there should be major concerns about confining each person to living quarters the typical size of a car parking space.

“After so much shocking failure and clear warnings of public health risks about using disused military barracks, it is completely inappropriate for the Government to continue its terrible treatment of people as objects for storage.

“The Home Secretary can keep on throwing public money to avoid doing her job but nothing good will come from it. Rather than wrecking the asylum system, the Government should fairly and efficiently determine people’s claims instead of perpetuating costly backlogs, human misery and organised criminal exploitation.”